The Flathead County Commissioners held a hearing to set the assessments for the recently created Rural Special Improvement District that will help fund the final round of Bigfork stormwater system improvements.

The hearing was Wednesday (today) at at the commissioners chambers at the Courthouse. The special tax district will raise $1.2 million of the $2.9 million total cost by levying taxes on 563 properties in Bigfork over a 20-year period. The annual cost will be $138 per property, including interest, annually for the construction of the stormwater improvements. Property owners have the option of paying off the construction portion of the assessment up front, interest-free, for a total of $2,138.30. The maintenance fee of $29.54 annually will fluctuate slightly each year, depending on the actual maintenance costs, according to county grant writer Whitney Aschenwald.

Earlier phases of the system construction along Grand Avenue were funded with about $1.4 million in state grants. Installation of a stormwater system will bring Bigfork up to state standards for pollutants that flow into Flathead Lake.

Bigfork’s old system of corrugated metal pipes has been inadequate for the growing bayside community.